


Stoke my Heart with Fire

by We_deserve_rainbows



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Derogatory Language, Gen, Gun Violence, Hostage Situations, Implied/Referenced Torture, Protective Jonny d'Ville, Protectiveness, but he pretends he doesnt, jonny cares the toy soldier, sex work (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/We_deserve_rainbows/pseuds/We_deserve_rainbows
Summary: Jonny did not like the Toy Soldier, it was creepy and no matter how many times he threw it out of the air lock it always came back, smiling as wide as ever. With that being said, God help the poor soul that ever says anything about it that could maybe be construed as mocking.
Relationships: Ashes O'Reilly & The Toy Soldier, Jonny d'Ville & Ashes O'Reilly, Jonny d'Ville & The Toy Soldier
Comments: 16
Kudos: 135
Collections: The Toy Soldier Has Rights





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it <3  
> (title from "The Mermaids Revenge" by Jessica Law)

When The Mechanisms landed in The City he was sure that he was in for a right good time. Spending a few decades high on senseless violence sounded like just the thing he needed to blow off some steam. He had been there for the better part of a decade, having a grand time killing paupers and drinking the bars dry. He hadn't seen much of his crew in his time in The City, he thought that Ashes might be a mob boss, but that was all he could really say. 

Jonny did not _like_ the Toy Soldier. It was relentlessly cheerful and never seemed to mind when Jonny shot at it in frustration. In fact, he had thrown it out of the airlock multiple times. However, it has always shown up later, smiling at the “jolly good show” of being thrown into space. 

With that being said, it was a part of the crew, and Jonny didn't tolerate anyone disrespecting his crew. Sure, he might make fun of Nastya and The Aurora and he may get into gun fights with Tim, but God save the poor soul who dares to speak a single word of slander about any of The Mechanisms. After all, it was impossible to not be a _little_ fond of the crew, even (especially) the Toy Soldier. 

This is why he reacted the way he did when he heard some scornful mocking in one of the better whiskey joints in the lower levels of The City. Jonny sat alone, blood-covered hands raising a glass to his lips. When he first heard fractured sentences drifting over from the group of patrons sitting in a different booth, he hid a smile behind his cup when he heard a mention of an “uncanny wooden thing”. Jonny hadn’t heard anything from the Toy Soldier since they got to The City, so he focused on listening to the conversation behind him, letting the din of the bar fall into background noise. And the words that he heard when he focused on their conversation made his vision go red with blind rage. 

“-Yeah, there's no way that wooden whore could be anything other than a stupid nymph,” he heard a rough voice say before the lot of them burst into raucous laughter, “Dionysus really needs to pick ‘em better,”

From what he knew, the nymphs that worked for Dionysus provided “entertainment” to customers. He had killed a few in his first months in The City, not knowing that they were nymphs. He soon learned that Dionysus cared about them enough for it to be more effort than it was worth to murder those particular residents of the city. He found it a tad hard to imagine the Toy Soldier being particularly drawn by that profession, but not impossible. It was essentially just making people happy, and the Soldier was never quiet about how much it liked making people happy.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by another disdainful voice, “I know someone who spoke with it at one of Dionysus' parties and they said that it didn't blink the whole time, and always spoke with the same eerily cheerful voice, no matter what it was saying. I don't know why Dionysus’ clientele would be so taken with that uncanny nymph,” When he heard this he set down his cup, drink splashing out due to the excess force, and stood up. He may claim to find the Toy Soldier irritating, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to want to brutally murder the people in the booth behind him. 

He tried to hide the wild wrath that was evident in his expression and plastered a bitter grin on his face before walking as casually as he could over to the booth where those _bastards_ were sitting. As much as he liked murder, he wanted to make sure that it _was_ the Toy Soldier that they were talking about, just to justify his anger. He looked down at them and was thinking bitterly about how these people didn't know the Soldier, thinking about if they had spent any time around it they wouldn't be saying those things about it. 

He stood over the table, cracking his knuckles behind his back to keep from strangling the group of people “Hello chaps! I’m Jonny! Mind if I ask what you fine fellows are talking about?” They looked up at him in irritation, but protests and curses died on their tongues when they saw the edge in this strange man's eyes, as he was just waiting for one of them to make a wrong move. 

So they didn't, and just sat, anxiously silent and staring at the gun on his hip, as this imposing man sat down next to the broad-shouldered woman who had brought the subject of the wooden nymph. When Jonny was sure that no one in the group was going to leave he asked again, this time failing to curb the unsettling violent edge in his voice, “What were you talking about before I sat down?”.

He looked around the group, to each of their faces, in turn, to find, unsurprisingly, that none of them were meeting his eyes. At this point, his hands were itching for the familiar recoil of his revolver and he longed to feel blood splatter on his face as he watched each of them die. But he held back, it would be worth it to make these poor motherfuckers say those things to his face, and it would be so satisfying to see the color drain from their faces when he told them exactly why he was making this the last day of their lives. 

He was grinning maniacally at this point and as the others at the table grew more afraid, one of them finally spoke. 

It was the stocky woman who piped up, her eyes still trained firmly on the table, but she seemed to steel herself before she said, “We were talking about Dionysus’ new nymph, and how creepy the wooden slut is,” she sneered, gaining confidence and hoping to find a kinship with this threatening stranger over a shared contempt towards nymphs. She raised her eyes and her face fell when she saw the expression on Jonny’s face. The twisted rage was evident from the way he bared his clenched teeth and the deranged hatred in his eyes. 

She opened her mouth to stutter out an apology, but was cut off by Jonny raising a hand, “Does this nymph have a name?” he forced out the words, as though they were difficult to get that past his teeth. And to be honest, they were, he would so much rather be killing these people instead of continuing to _talk_ , and at this point, he didn't want to just shoot them, he wanted to _break_ them. He wanted to crush their very being, but he waited, he wanted to make them say its name, and then he could do what he wanted to.

The woman who had been speaking before looked at him with terror, the bravado she had before was gone, replaced by fear, “P-please, let's all just walk away from this,” 

Jonny rolled his eyes and drew his gun. For the brief moment it took to place the muzzle under her chin the eyes of everyone at the table were filled with blind panic, and that was almost enough to make up for wasting so much time. A pathetic cry broke from her lips, and he smiled cruelly, “What's your name?” 

She looked at him through tear-filled eyes and said “L-Lyra Adamos,” and he worked hard to make his next words as false sugar sweet as he possibly could.

“Okay, Lyra! Now, what is this nymph's name sweetheart?” he chuckled kindly, “Remember, answer or you die!” he smiled at her ignorant tears and prepared himself to pull the trigger when his attention was drawn by a sudden sound from across the table. 

“It's called ‘The Toy Soldier’ okay?!” When he heard the Toy Soldier’s name Jonny was filled with a renewed fury, he turned his head towards the voice and raked violent eyes over the nervous little man who had just spoken and took a few moments of consideration before carefully speaking.

“I have known the Toy Soldier for 8 millennia,” the faces of the people at the table fell into despair as they realized that they probably weren't going to get out of this alive, “it has been part of my crew for most of that, and I have never known it to be anything other than lovely, no desire to kill, all it wants is to make people happy,” and then, after a moment more of thought, “fuck all of you!” He promptly removed the gun from under Lyra’s chin and shot the man across the table in the side.

The rest of the bar finally took notice of what was happening, the other patrons of the bar not even considering alerting the proper authorities before gathering their things and hurrying out the door. The bartender just looked mildly exasperated before ducking under the bar. 

Jonny smiled sadistically and twin shots rang out as he spun around and shot the remaining two people in the backs of their knees. He exhaled in satisfaction at finally being able to hurt these people and took a moment to revel in the feeling before going to each of them and tying their hands behind their backs. 

He was going to take them to see Ashes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Greek mythology Keres were personified spirits of violent death  
> -  
> Enjoy!

Jonny silently handed a wad of cash to the grinning _Keres_ that had carried his ill-fated captives to the black shining door that he now knew would lead to where Ashes conducted their business. 

They had become quite the crime boss in their relatively short time in the city. Jonny found that rumors about them were whispered in every corner of The City by the rich and poor alike, the tones of their voices equal parts cautionary and admiring. He had first started asking after them simply because they would have both the means to really _hurt_ these people, and the same incentive that he did to do so. Namely, a protectiveness towards the Toy Soldier that ran deeper than either of them would really want to admit. 

From what he had heard, Ashes had been going by the name “Hades” for some time now, and while he had originally been seeking out Ashes purely for convenience, it soon became clear that there was a much better reason to go to Ashes with these people in particular. They controlled the Acheron and could make these people really _suffer_ in that massive processor for as long as it existed. 

A stream of cruel laughter flowed from him at the thought of this, and he gazed down in distaste at the three people sitting on the ground next to him, their wrists and ankles bound. He almost found their broken sobbing and muffled pleas for help funny, but he couldn't muster up anything but resentment. 

At last, he knocked on that imposing black door, and his captives stilled, the reminder of their quickly approaching ends putting rather a damper on their attempts to negotiate. He waited, not hearing anything from behind the door and tapping his foot impatiently, until, finally, the door silently opened. The person that stood there was tall and bulky, they looked down at Jonny and didn't raise an eyebrow when they glanced at the three people bound and gagged at Jonny’s feet.

Jonny looked up at them, unimpressed, but grinning wildly nonetheless, “Hello, tell Ash- ah sorry, tell ‘Hades’, that ‘ _Captain_ D’Ville’ is here to see them,” They nodded and the door closed. 

He crouched down and looked at the Woman who had been the start of this whole ordeal, “You deserve whatever they do to you,” he smiled at her renewed sobbing and stood back up. He was only waiting for a few more seconds before the door opened and he was invited into the dark hallway. 

The walls were made of smooth black rock, and had torches lighting the passage every few feet. The hallway had an uncomfortably high ceiling, and the torches were low enough that you couldn't tell whether the ceiling was visible and black, or if you couldn't see high enough into the shadows to see it. The whole thing just screamed “Ashes” to Jonny. He and his captives were led past doors by the door person until they reached the end of the hallway. They opened the door that sat there and ushered Jonny and his, still thrashing, prisoners in alone. 

Ashes lounged on a throne that appeared to be made out of volcanic glass with golden accents. The first thing they said was, “First mate D’Ville, Jonny, _first mate_ ,” Jonny smiled and rolled his eyes before he nodded in exasperation and made some snide comment about how he was _basically_ the captain. Ashes rolled their eyes at him and gave the bound people a disinterested look before returning their gaze to Jonny, “right. What's all this then?”

Jonny looked down at them, they were looking at Ashes, silently begging to be released, and they were struggling against their binding as if there was a chance in hell that they would be able to get out of this situation. “Ah. Yes. Well, have you heard from The Toy Soldier recently?” he asked, almost as a formality, he couldn't imagine that they spoke to it often. 

To his surprise, they nodded fondly, “Yeah, we have tea every other week. Why?” they looked again at the prisoners, this time with a little more suspicion. 

The people that worked for them occasionally mentioned the “wooden man” who would show up with a briefcase every other week. When the Toy Soldier had first started showing up with some people had just assumed that it was there on business. Ashes didn't have the heart to tell them that it was tea, crumpets, and jam; not guns or drugs in that briefcase. 

They weren't as bad as Jonny when it came to professing their “dislike” for the rest of The Mechanisms, however, they would resolutely deny if anyone suggested that Ashes loved them. No matter how much they wanted to protect every member of the crew. No matter the pain in their soul whenever they saw any of The Mechanisms in pain. 

Jonny made a noise of surprise and nodded slightly, “Well, right then. So you know that it's a nymph right?” Ashes nodded and gestured for him to continue. “Well, these _lovely_ folks, were saying some _very_ mean things about it because of its occupation,” at this Ashes’ mouth thinned and Jonny could see the familiar spark of anger in their eyes. 

“What _kind_ of ‘things’, Jonny?” They said, glaring intently at the captives, who cowered in fear at the tone of their voice. It was the same tone that Jonny had used when he first approached the group. 

Jonny smiled bitterly at Ashes and knelt down to roughly remove the gags from their mouths and said, “Why don't you tell ‘Hades’ here what, _exactly_ , you said about the Toy Soldier,” his voice dripping with frenzied violence. They stared up at him in mute horror and none of them made any move to say anything. Jonny sighed in annoyance and looked at Ashes apologetically before getting a knife from his hip and harshly moving it under one of their necks and saying, “talk,” 

The person flinched and started trying to shake their head and deny ever saying anything, but were silenced by the sight of Ashes standing up silently behind Jonny.

They placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at them in surprise. He stood up and walked a few steps away. Ashes spoke with a hushed tone, but the fire in their eyes didn't look like it was going out anytime soon.

“Hey, you’re _sure_ that these people said something demeaning about the Soldier because it's a nymph?” 

Jonny threw his hands up in irritation and exclaimed, “Yes!” he glared at the prisoners, “Demeaning and _belittling_! None of them have ever even met it!”

Ashes nodded thoughtfully and said, “Okay Jonny, you can go now,” if you weren't listening carefully you might not be able to detect the slight quiver of rage in their voice, but there was no missing the blazing fire of violence in their eyes, “I'll take care of this. I'll send someone to notify you when they’re dead,” they turned their fiery gaze on the prisoners and said, “rest assured; their time in the Acheron will _not_ be pleasant,” 

Jonny looked like he was about to argue, to say that he wanted to stay, but the wild look on Ashes’ face was a little frightening, even to him. So he left the way he came, hearing laughter and the familiar click of Ashes’ lighter before the door closed behind him. 

It was two days. Jonny had started to be a little annoyed at the radio silence from Ashes, but he was approached in a bar by a tall woman in a suit after two days of walking out of the silent black door. She informed him that Hades wanted him to know that the people that had been giving their mutual acquaintance grief had died that afternoon. And they weren’t ever going to stop suffering. 

Jonny smiled madly as he thanked her and bought himself another whiskey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thats that!! hope you liked it!!!  
> come talk to me on my tumblr if you want, https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mossman

**Author's Note:**

> I have gotten emotionally attached to the Toy Soldier help  
> -  
> comments are always appreciated! As are kudos! <3  
> -  
> have a wonderful day!!


End file.
